


Hope you feel Single tonight

by Saturn_Knight



Series: Modern AU [2]
Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Babysitting, First Dates, Fluff, Grimmchild is named Junior in this, Hi welcome to my self-indulgent modern au, Hornet is mentioned, I forgot a few tags sorry, Mentions of Violence, Not Beta Read, Other, Reckless Driving lol, Romance, The Knight is Called Ghost (Hollow Knight), a lot of fluff, fellas is it gay to have a date with the Local Theater Goth?, gosh I'm nervous posting this, referencing the Coliseum of Fools on that last tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:54:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28460469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saturn_Knight/pseuds/Saturn_Knight
Summary: After a rough day at work, Ghost needs a break from their boring life. Luckily a certain Theater Director knows a perfect way to have fun.
Relationships: Grimm & Grimmchild (Hollow Knight), Grimm/The Knight (Hollow Knight), Grimmchild & The Knight (Hollow Knight)
Series: Modern AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2119500
Comments: 9
Kudos: 46





	Hope you feel Single tonight

**Author's Note:**

> Hello dear reader! Welcome to my self indulgent Human Modern AU! Just a preface here, Ghost is 21 and Grimm is 25 in this. This is my first 3,000+ fanfic and it's a rarepair lmao. (This is all just me projecting my ideal date ahaha)  
> A lil gift before 2020 ends, let's ring in 2021 with some good vibes!  
> The title of this fic is a lyric from Coca Cola by Divino Niño (please give them a listen!! Their music is so good!)

Ghost nearly growled at the fact that they busted their ass hauling delivery after delivery all across Hallownest, only to get ⅔ of what they were paid a month ago, their boss citing “hard times” as a shoddy excuse. It was getting harder and harder to support themself in this dying country, the only alternatives were to leave and pray there were jobs elsewhere, or go back to the fights in the Coliseum. They shuddered at the latter, the Coliseum gave good prize money, more than they made in two months a fight, but it was brutal; they had a couple of near-death experiences that they’d rather not go back to. 

They’d rather be broke than go back in the fights, plus their sister had nearly killed them herself when she found out they were fighting. So for now, they’d take whatever job came their way, which was usually labor or delivery jobs using their busted truck.

The only fun job that they looked towards was babysitting Grimm’s kid every other night of the week. They had met when him and his travelling group decided to buy the old theater in Dirtmouth and refurbish it, citing a need to “Revitalize this old town with fine arts!” as Grimm had proclaimed when Ghost went to investigate at the Elder’s request. They didn’t mind the eccentric newcomers, especially since he had paid good money for their help moving things to fix the theater. And they absolutely melted when Grimm introduced them to his son Junior, the three year old was the cutest thing they had ever seen. Once the theater was all fixed up and ready for performances months later, Grimm had asked them to help babysit during rehearsals and Ghost readily agreed. 

It was fun playing with Junior, and getting to talk with Grimm was an added bonus. Something about the taller man made Ghost’s heart flutter, just a bit. And with the way Grimm had been acting around them, joking with them, sending them soft smiles, and on the rare occasion inviting them to hang out, Ghost was inclined to believe that maybe they had a shot with him. 

With a sigh Ghost folded the bills into their pocket and started up the truck. Delivery wasn’t as physically demanding, but the day had been taxing nonetheless and they felt tired in the way that doing some mindless job can do. The drive back to Dirtmouth was uneventful thankfully, the radio news talking about continued flooding in the east district of the City of Tears. Once they drove into the main street Ghost checked their phone to see the reminder that it was babysitting night popped up. They smiled before pulling into the far side of town where the Theater was. Entering the building Ghost could already hear Brumm practicing with his accordion while the rest of the Troupe bustled around with costumes, props, some of them rehearsing dance phrases and such. In the midst of it all was Grimm, calling out to a few people here and there to position things onstage. As Ghost approached he turned around, vivid eyes turned upwards as they met Ghost’s.

“Ah dear friend! Thank you once again for helping out, though looking at you right now you seem to have gone through a bit of a day hm?” Grimm called out to them as he weaved through seats and other Troupe members to come right up to them. “Maybe it’s best if you go home? I can get Divine to watch Junior instead?”    
  


With that Ghost straightened up before signing “No it’s alright, work’s just been…” they trailed off trying to find the right wording, “Work’s been a pain in the ass honestly.” Grimm snorted before placing his hands on both of Ghost’s shoulders. “Well it seems there ain’t no rest for the weary.” He singsonged at them, “Ah I have an idea! Why don’t you and I do something enjoyable after rehearsal! A way to get your mind off of everything.” Grimm lifted his arms up into a flourish as he spoke. 

Ghost thought it over, spending time with Grimm would be a nice thing to do, and besides they haven’t done anything they considered “fun” in a while. “Alright, that sounds nice actually, but what exactly are we doing?” they signed. 

“Oh we’ll figure that out when we get there!” Grimm waved off, “But now I really need to get back to directing my Troupe, Junior should be around here somewhere...Aha! Over there!” Grimm pointed to where Junior was currently munching on a small bag of chips in a seat in the balcony. “I’ll go up there once rehearsal’s done, once again make sure that he doesn’t cause too much mischief.” Grimm winked at them before turning back towards the stage and calling out, “Ok rehearsal starts in 5 minutes! Everyone please get in position for Act 1!” He was met with a chorus of “Thank you 5!” before everyone scrambled to get ready. 

Ghost started to ascend the stairs to the balcony, hearing the bustle of the Troupe as they all got into position. Once they reached the balcony they whistled a low note to the toddler in front of them. At the sound the boy whipped his head around before squeaking out a “Ghost!!” before barreling at them. Ghost braced themself before nearly getting tackled by a hyperactive three year old, smiling at how excited Junior was at seeing them, even though they babysat him every other night. They slowly signed out a “Hello Junior, how was your day?” as he looked up at them. Ghost was slowly teaching him sign so that they could better communicate without trying to scharade everything they did or get somebody to translate since the boy couldn’t read yet. 

“Today was cool! Daddy got me chips!” Junior proudly waved the nearly empty bag at Ghost as they smiled before he grabbed one of their hands and led them to where he was sitting before. On his seat was a tablet to play games on that he grabbed before patting the seat next to him for Ghost to sit on. Down below Ghost could hear Grimm call out “Going dark!” as the Theater lights went out and the music started up. Ghost forgot exactly what play they were performing, something about a singer and a poltergeist? Either way the music was nice to hear and the costumes were beautiful. Turning back towards Junior they saw that he was currently playing some puzzle game, fingers still a bit greasy from the chips. 

They spent the rest of the rehearsal sitting on the balcony either watching the rehearsal or playing with Junior and helping him out in tough sections of his puzzle game. Sometimes Junior got antsy and wanted to run around, that’s when Ghost would take him downstairs to either the lobby or out in the parking lot so he could get some energy out. Ghost had to admit that they were also having a fun time, Junior was a good kid and was always eager to learn sign from them or show off how they beat a level in his puzzle game. 

When it got dark outside Ghost herded Junior back up to the balcony to spend the last part of the rehearsal up there. They watched as the poor toddler struggled to climb the carpeted stairs due to how tired he was. They softly smiled as they bent down to balance Junior on their hip and climbed the rest of the flight with him in their arms. When they got up to the balcony they looked down to see that he had fallen asleep, so they shifted him up to rest on their shoulder and decided to simply walk around the balcony to not disturb the sleeping toddler. 

Soon the lights came back on and they could hear Grimm commenting on how everything went. It seemed that it went off without any major problems and Grimm was proud of the progress made. As Troupe members started to pack things away and get ready to leave Ghost could hear Grimm striding up the stairs towards them. When he got to the two of them he cooed at the sight of his son currently sound asleep in Ghost’s arms. 

“I think it’s time to put my little bat to bed” Grimm whispered before gesturing for Ghost to follow as he led them downstairs, “You can help me get him to his room while I get ready for our night out.” Ghost followed as Grimm waved a goodbye to most of the cast as they were leaving and entered the backstage area. Through a few doors and another flight of stairs they got to Grimm’s apartment. The inside was decorated in black and red accents and the walls were lined with posters of past plays. A few costumes were strewn about the floor, waiting to be mended. Grimm pointed to a door on the right that was painted with a few fireballs, “You can put him to bed in there, oh and make sure to tuck the blankets in around him, he kicks in his sleep and the sheets will be knocked right off if they’re not secured.” Ghost nodded before entering Juniors room. 

The toddler’s room was filled with small toys, stuffed animals and a small mobile of the planets above the plush bed. They placed the still sleeping child onto his bed, and when he started getting fussy with not holding onto Ghost anymore they grabbed a plush tiktik for him to hold. They gently placed the sheets and blankets around Junior and tucked him in securely like Grimm instructed. Ghost stood back and smiled at the sleeping child before quietly exiting the room and closing the door. 

When they turned the knob and faced the living room they saw Grimm emerge from another door already changed out of his usual vest and slacks. Ghost blinked, they had never really seen him in anything other than semi-formal wear, so it was a bit strange seeing him in black jeans and a maroon v-neck. They keep forgetting that he was just 25 and not older due to how he usually dressed. 

Grimm noticed their staring and smirked, “Like what you see? I don’t usually dress as casual as this but tonight’s an exception.” At that Ghost startled, heat rushing towards their face before they frantically signed out an apology. Grimm laughed before shaking his head and leading them back out of the apartment before locking it. As they both exited the theater and into the parking lot Ghost signed, “Well what exactly are we going to do, there isn’t much here in terms of entertainment.”

“Ah well I haven’t really thought about it, is there anything here we can do? Bowling? A movie? Mini-golf?” Grimm questioned them. Ghost shook their head, ever since they got to Dirtmouth nothing was open except for a general store, a diner and maybe one or two fast food joints. Going to the City of Tears was out of the question, it was still under quarantine plus it was an hour drive from Dirtmouth. Greenpath State Park would have been nice to go through, but it was dangerous at night and Ghost didn’t want to end up going to the hospital if either of them got injured. 

“We can go eat at the diner? It should still be open.” Ghost signed back at the taller man before getting into their truck and unlocking the other door so he could get in. It wasn’t much but ever since Ms. Willoh moved from the Queen’s Station and bought the diner from its previous owner the food tasted pretty good, a little  _ too _ good but Ghost wasn’t going to complain. “Oh that sounds like a wonderful idea!” Grimm exclaimed. Ghost nodded before starting up the truck and pulling it out of the lot before driving over to where Willoh’s Diner was. 

Entering the small diner, Ghost could already smell bacon and hotcakes grilling on the flat top. The diner currently was occupied by Willoh manning the flat top and Zote sitting at the counter recounting some story to her. Ghost led Grimm to a booth furthest from the counter as to not constantly hear one of Zote’s over the top tales. Sinking into the frayed vinyl booth they looked down at the menu to see what they’d want to order, Ghost was pretty sure that they hadn’t eaten since the morning and they were starving. They looked up to see Grimm looking around the diner, humming to himself as his fingers tapped against the table. 

When Willoh was done serving Zote his plate she came over to the two sitting in the booth, pen and pad at the ready. “And what would you two lovelies like to order?” She chirped out. Ghost quickly typed out their order of a breakfast platter with bacon and scrambled eggs with a water to drink and presented the screen towards her. She nodded before jotting down their order and turning towards Grimm. With a small “ah” he simply asked for a coffee with two creams and one sugar. Willoh nodded before heading back to the counter to start their order. 

“I thought you’d order a black coffee?” Ghost questioned before they softly picked at a loose thread on their seat. He blinked before grinning at them, “While black coffee does have its charm, I do prefer having something sweeter to balance out the bitterness.” Grimm leaned in, “Also because I have a sweet tooth.” They both snickered at that before getting into a small conversation about each other’s day, Ghost huffing about how work was horrible while Grimm recounted how Junior had accidentally gotten into a costume chest and promptly startled Brumm as he helped move the box. That got another laugh out of Ghost as they imagined tiny little Junior managing to scare Brumm of all people and succeeding. 

Soon enough Willoh came back with a breakfast platter and a coffee for the both of them, giving them a small “enjoy!” before she went to clean up another table. Ghost salivated at the steaming plate of goodness in front of them before grabbing a fork and digging in. They barely catched Grimm smiling at them before he started sipping his coffee. For a while all that could be heard was the soft clinking of silverware and faint grumblings as Zote paid for his meal. Once Ghost finished up their meal with a satisfied sigh and Grimm set his coffee cup down Willoh came by with the tab. 

Before Ghost could grab their wallet Grimm spoke up, “Let me pay for the meal my friend, it’s the least I could do.” Ghost blinked before nodding, already preparing for the next time they both go out to pay for his meal. With that they both left the booth to go to the register where Willoh was waiting to ring them up. Once she handed Grimm the receipt he handed her a 10 for her tip, to which she eagerly thanked him for before waving them both out as they headed back to Ghost’s truck. 

“That was an enjoyable experience,” Grimm hmm’d as Ghost placed the key into the ignition, “But I do believe that there’s one more thing we can do!” Ghost glanced over to where he sat, a grin on his face as he waited for their response. “And what would that be?” Ghost countered, wondering what else Grimm had in store for the both of them. Honestly they were just grateful to be fed a good meal and spend time with the man, Ghost didn’t need anything else to be satisfied on how the night turned out. But they were curious enough to go along with whatever else, nobody was waiting for them at their home so no need to cut the night short.    
  


“Since I’m not familiar with the area, why don’t you show me your favorite spot in town?” Grimm offered, head tilting towards Ghost. Ghost mulled it over in their mind, they weren’t native to Dirtmouth, growing up in the Wastes, but they did have a spot they didn’t mind showing to Grimm. It was a secluded place near the old King’s Pass highway, perfect for whenever Ghost needed time alone. It was also nice to stargaze, the sky was slightly less blanketed in clouds than over Dirtmouth. Ghost nodded at Grimm before placing the truck in drive and heading out towards the edge of town. Grimm beamed at them before glancing down to the currently silent radio, Ghost took notice and gestured for him to turn it on. Soon the truck was filled with the chatter of some advertisement talking about a raffle to win some random thing. Thankfully after the commercial ended the music started up, Ghost had put it on Pharloom Underground before they switched it off in the afternoon, a foreign radio that played new music from upcoming artists. It was nice to listen to, and they had found a couple of bands they enjoyed through it. 

When they hit a pile of debris on the road, Ghost swerved the truck hard to the right before gunning it onto a dirt path. Grimm yelped at the sudden movement before whooping at how fast Ghost was driving, letting out a “Hell yeah!” Ghost smirked at him, hearing how the engine roared as they pushed it to the limits. They loved driving faster on the dirt path, it took less time to get to their spot than driving the “normal” speed limit, as if there were any police to stop them. 

Finally after a good few minutes of exhilarating speed, during which Grimm had cracked open the window on his side and was cackling into the night air as the wind whipped around his head messing up his hair, Ghost slowed the truck down, reaching their destination. Grimm brought his head back into the truck and Ghost snickered at how disheveled he appeared. “You speed demon!” Grimm exclaimed, smoothing back a portion of his raven hair that had plastered itself to his forehead, “Living life dangerously, it’s no wonder now why I like you.” Ghost flushed at his comment, Gods above, why did they always seem to get lumaflys in their stomach whenever he complimented them?

“We’re here” Ghost signed out, quickly cutting the engine and walking out to hide their flushed face. Walking to the end of the truck they unhooked the tailgate and climbed up onto the truck bed. They could hear the radio get louder, probably due to Grimm turning the knob before they heard the crunch of his shoes in the semi-sandy ground. The truck bed moved as the taller man got up next to Ghost and laid down, humming at the sky. As Ghost looked up at the dark night sky, they could see a smattering of small stars glittering down at them. It was a good thing that the cloud cover was less than usual, otherwise the both of them would have been just looking at nothing but a void. 

They stayed like that for a while, eyes up to the sky as the radio cycled from playing music to commercials, both were quiet as they simply enjoyed each other's presence. Ghost nearly closed their eyes before snapping open at the first few notes of the next song on the radio. Ah, it was from their current favorite band, the music a mix of indie rock and dream pop that made them groove along to the otherworldly chords. Noticing Ghost’s reaction, Grimm stood up with enthusiasm and thrust out his hand. With a gleam in his eyes he said, “Dance with me my friend! The crowd awaits!”

Ghost looked around the dark clearing, snorting at the fact that there was no one else but them before taking the man’s hand and hoisting themself up off the truck bed. A smile graced their lips when Grimm twirled them around before swaying to the song crooning out of the truck radio. Following the beat of the song, they danced and spun around, sometimes Grimm would try to sing out a bit of the lyrics before they both burst into giggles at how raspy his voice was. 

Once the song reached its end, they were both out of breath, hands intertwined. “Masterful work dear friend,” Grimm purred, “Hear how the crowd adores you!” With that Grimm started to imitate a screaming crowd, whisper-yelling “encore, encore!” as Ghost started to silently laugh at his antics. When they were done with their laughing spell Grimm leaned in closer, head bowing to thump against the short person’s forehead. Ghost smiled before placing one of their calloused hands on his cheek, petting the soft skin under his eye. 

“You look ethereal,” Grimm whispered, his breath puffing out against Ghost’s face, the soft white of their hair made them look as if a halo encircled their head, “Shall we end this night with a bow?” With that Ghost huffed to themself, Grimm was always one for theatrics and never passed up the opportunity to impress, maybe that’s why they were so drawn to him in the first place. 

Going back to Grimm they nodded before leaning in to press their lips against his. Grimm smiled into their kiss and wrapped his arms around the other before dipping Ghost low to the ground. The feeling of the world tilting made Ghost feel dizzy in the best way, kissing Grimm felt like being engulfed by flames but never being burned. They stayed like that for a few moments before Grimm brought the shorter person back up and broke the kiss. 

Ghost stood there dazed before grinning softly at him, motioning to Grimm to get on the truck bed again before getting onto it themself. As Grimm settled in next to them they wrapped an arm around his waist before leaning their head on his shoulder. There was a light feeling in their chest as their mind yelled out in celebration. They got to kiss Grimm! Did that make him their boyfriend now? They hoped so, that kiss felt amazing and they wouldn’t mind if there were more like that in the future. 

As Ghost looked back up into the inky black sky they could have sworn that the stars seemed to shine just a bit brighter than before. 

**Author's Note:**

> Well I hope you enjoyed my fic! I love these two so much. Now I'm gonna go have some cake as celebration of New Years. Be sure to leave a like and a comment if you enjoyed reading it! Or you can come and yell at me on my tumblr saturno-sol


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